LONDON, JAN 1: Lucky babies born in France on New Year's day will receive 100 euros (just over $100) in a savings account opened by the state to mark the launch of the single currency.The French Ministry of Finance expects the total bill to reach about one million francs ($178,000) with around 1,500 births expected on the day.
French finance minister Dominique Strauss Kahn said: ``I am sure that our children and children's children will reap huge benefits from the euro.''
And in the southeast Italian city of Bari, the first two babies born in 1999 will have savings accounts in euros opened in their names, a Treasury official said. The initiative was organized by local authorities as part of their New Year celebrations.
The euro officially becomes the single currency of the European Union on January 1.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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